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SCUTTLEBUTT 1646 - August 13, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. COMMENTARY The Olympics, there can be no greater event at which to excel. Just to get to the Games requires an extraordinary level of commitment, focus and ability. Once there the world's top sailors need to put in a lifetime's best performance on one day and then repeat it, day after day. For some the pressure of the event takes its toll and pushes competitors over the edge, for others the global attention brings out the very best in their game. Little surprise that winning a medal at the Olympic Games remains the most prestigious and impressive of sporting achievements. For spectators the Games represent some of the best sailing action available with nine diverse classes racing over 15 days. - Matthew Sheahan, Yachting World, www.yachtingworld.com/yw/olympics04/ THE US OLYMPIC SAILING DELEGATION Tornado crew Charlie Ogletree (Houston, Texas) was elected Team Captain by his teammates for the 18-member U.S. Olympic Sailing Team. The distinction allowed him to vote, with the 27 other Team Captains from the 2004 Olympic Team, to determine who, among the 531 athletes competing, will carry the flag for the U.S.A. in the Parade of Athletes at Friday' Opening Ceremony. This will be Ogletree' third consecutive Olympic Games sailing with skipper Johnny Lovell (New Orleans, La.). Kevin Hall finishes second in the Flag Bearer elections held among the Team Captains on the US Olympic Team. The honor allows him to move to the head of the U.S. delegation at the Parade of Athletes in Friday' Opening Ceremonies. Bestowed with the high honor of carrying the U.S. flag for the 2004 Olympic Team will be WNBA veteran and two-time Olympic gold medallist Dawn Staley (Philadelphia, Pa.). Hall will be close behind, followed behind by Ogletree and other Team Captains, then the different groups of athletes representing the 28 Olympic sports. Hall is a first-timer here at the Olympics. Katie McDowell (Barrington, R.I.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.) won their 470 Women's race after disregarding the superstition of practice race leaders - bailing out - for good luck before crossing the finish line. Their lead over the fleet was substantial. After racing, McDowell reflected on what will be her first Olympic experience. 470 Men' crew Kevin Burnham (Miami, Fla.) also had a fine day on the racecourse. "The boat's totally ready, and we had good speed in the practice race," said Burnham. Rounding second to last at the weather mark, Burnham and skipper Paul Foerster (Rockwall, Texas) began picking off boats, passing 20 or so to climb into fifth. "The class is just so deep in talent. Literally, there are 10-15 teams that can win gold. I will stake my life on it that the regatta will come down to the last race." Burnham believes the winds on the Saronic Gulf -sometimes a northerly offshore Meltemi flow and sometimes an onshore seabreeze -will play a huge role in deciding medals. "There is no rhyme or reason when the wind shifts - it' a unique place to sail. When it's the Meltemi, say your prayers, because there' rarely a leader around the first mark that wins. The breeze sometimes is so close to you, but you can't get to it. And you can keep your eyes peeled, but the wind drops in on you. The seabreeze, even, is capable of 30 degree shifts." US PROSPECTS "Despite some distractions - heat, security issues, the meltemi - the U.S. Sailing Team looks to increase its record medal count at the Olympic Games this month in Athens. A surging U.S. Olympic Sailing Team could win more medals than many would have predicted a year ago." That's the opinion of Sail magazine's Josh Adams in a story just posted on the magazine's website. Adams analyzes each class and feels the US has "strong" medal prospects in the Star, Tornado, Yngling and Laser classes; and "moderate" medal prospects in the 49er, Europe, 470 Men and 470 Women classes. To read Adams' reviews: http://www.sailmagazine.com/medals/ RESOLVED … WITHOUT WASTING WORDS The following is the entire content of a joint press release to be issued by Quantum and Genesis. "Genesis International and Quantum Sail Design Group have resolved their intellectual property related business differences. The terms and conditions of this resolution remain undisclosed." REVOLUTIONARY CONNECTION Mari Cha 4, Shockwave and GBR Victory Challenge have one thing in common: the T-Ring. Developed during the 2003 Americas Cup, the T-Ring replaces the traditional clip-shackles that frequently fail on genoa sheets. The T-Ring is unbreakable, doesn't cause damage to masts and shrouds, provides quick and easy sheet application and is less expensive than the clips it replaces. Thoroughly tested, the T-Ring is available worldwide with applications offered for both family cruisers and the most profile yachts. Photos and additional information at http://www.t-ring.co.nz/ THE HIGH COST OF CAMPAIGNING Skipper Carol Cronin of Jamestown, R.I., and her crew, Liz Filter of Stevensville, Md., and Nancy Haberland of Annapolis, Md., will make their Olympic debuts Saturday in the Yngling, a keelboat that's also making its first Summer Games appearance. Cronin and crew might not be here if Filter hadn't struck a tasty sponsorship deal with Atkins, one of the companies behind the low-carb diet craze. Launching an Olympic campaign takes some serious cash, as Cronin and Filter quickly discovered after deciding 31/2 years ago to try and qualify for Athens with the U.S. women's sailing team. There's a boat to buy, and a van to pull it. A coach to pay. Sails to replace. There are a lot of regattas in Europe, and since the Yngling (pronounced ING-ling) is a three-person boat, travel costs are high. All this while the sailors have to put their real jobs on hold. Annual budget: $120,000. Filter, who has 13 years of experience in medical sales, went looking for sponsorships and negotiated a $244,000 deal with Atkins. "We're not getting paid. That's two years of expenses for us. That's all it is," Cronin said. "Obviously it's still very helpful because otherwise I'd be figuring out how to get my house back from the bank." "We were doing the little dog-and-pony shows with cocktail parties with friends and family, and submitting for grants at the local sailing foundations, but we just needed the really big hit to take away that worry," Filter said. So she sent proposals to about 200 companies, all of which make various household products. "I didn't want to have a sponsor that I didn't believe in," said Filter, who dropped several pounds on the Atkins diet after having two children, now ages 6 and 4. She heard back from about 50 companies. Some offered free socks, shirts or watches, but those don't pay the freight. She pared her list to a handful of serious prospects and closed the deal with Atkins. Cronin and her crew got an additional $75,000 from U.S. Sailing and the USOC after winning the trials. While their sponsorship deal is unmatched among American sailors, it probably does no more than equal the funding that some European sailors receive from their national governing bodies. - Excerpts from a story by Bernie Wilson, AP as posted on the SF Gate website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/6xa8g CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar GRB CHALLENGE The America's Cup, the world's oldest international sporting event, is about to sail into European waters for the first time since it was lost to the New World in 1851. But the 32nd gathering of the world's rich and powerful, who for 150 years have been obsessed sometimes to the point of penury with winning it, could be about to take place without Britain. The British team, GBR Challenge Americas Cup, has just three weeks to finalize a deal to be ready in time to compete in Valencia in 2007. At present the computer tycoon Peter Harrison has bankrolled the challenge to the tune of £25m. But he says he will reluctantly pull out unless corporate sponsors can come up with a further £20m to see his dream through. Gordon Moultrie, the team's principle, is in the process of preparing the boat and its crew. But as for the prospect of Britain not entering? "I just can't go there," he said yesterday. The problem has been convincing big companies to sign up for what has become, in a rapidly commercializing sport, an all-year-round rather than once-every-four-year commitment. A deal is said to be close but it has been stalled at boardroom level for 12 months. According to some at Skandia Cowes Week this week, one of the problems has been in finding a big name skipper for GBR. While sailing is one of the few real gold medal prospects at Athens, the UK's leading yachtsmen have already signed for foreign teams. Ben Ainslie will skipper Team New Zealand, while Iain Percy has joined the Italians. Ellen MacArthur, perhaps the biggest name in the sport, is a long-distance specialist rather than team racer. - Excerpts from a story by Jonathan Brown on the NZ Herald website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/3w3p9 MADDENINGLY SLOW START Skovshoved, Denmark - Stage 2 of the 2004-2005 Swedish Match Tour, the Danish Open, got of to a maddeningly slow start Thursday. One flight of racing was completed in the morning before the wind shut off for the day. The winds were so light on Oresund, north of Copenhagen between Denmark and Sweden, that the body of water resembled a reflecting pool, the only waves made by water skiers. No starts were attempted after Flight 2 was cancelled in progress at 11:04 a.m. Racing was officially postponed for the day at 6:00 p.m. "This isn't the worst day we've ever had, but it couldn't be much worse," said Jan Schlüter, Project Manager of the Danish Open. The format of the Danish Open 2004 calls for the 12 crews to sail a single round robin, with the top four advancing to the semifinals before the final. Schlüter said he would opt to drop the semifinals in favor of completing the round robin, as opposed to shortening the round robin to hold the semis before the final. "That way you know that you have the two right people in the final," Schlüter said. The winners were Mathieu Richard (FRA) over Lotte Meldgaard (DEN), Ulf Jonson (SWE) over Peter Wibroe (DEN) and Lars Nordbjerg (DEN) over Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN). Crews led by Michael Dunstan (AUS), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Kelvin Harrap (NZL), Chris Law (GBR), Staffan Lindberg (FIN) and Philippe Presti (FRA) have yet to compete. - Sean McNeill, www.SwedishMatchTour.com NEWS BRIEFS * The 46-boat Lido 14 Class Championships, held on Fernridge Lake near Eugene, OR concluded Wednesday with Stuart Robertson and his daughter Erin Frederick comfortably holding off three-time champion Mark Gaudio and his crew, John Papadopoulos. Joe D'Amico and Ruth Pence from Sequim, WA took third place in what was the largest championship fleet in nearly 20 years. Robertson previously won the championships in 1975. Complete results: www.lido14.org * Races eight and nine of ten were sailed at the Melges 24 Worlds in Marstrand and with a slight increase in breeze the 81 competitors had their best days sailing yet. Philippe Kahn and Geir Dahl Andersen were the individual race winners, but in the overall standings Italy's Maruizio Abba has now overtaken Frenchman Sebastien Col, helming P&P for Phillip Ligot, to lead by 4.6 points with Stuart Rix of the UK, helming Quentin Strauss's Team Gill, in third place. Norway's Eivind Melleby twice fell foul of the black flag dropping him down to fifth and out of contention. www.melges24.com * Tyler Sinks of San Diego dominated the 2004 Naples Sabot Nationals held this week on Mission Bay at San Diego, CA. Returning to the form that helped him win the 2002 Nationals, fifteen year old Sinks adds this victory to his win at the CFJ Nationals the previous week. Charlie Buckingham finished second in the Gold flight with Wade Buxton taking third place. Beth Barnard from Newport Beach handily won the Silver Fleet competition in the 178-boat championship. Final results - http://www.sdyc.org/juniors/04results/sabotnats.htm * The Optimist New England Championship Regatta at Sail Newport attracted sailors and their families came from 12 US States, the USVI, Canada, Barbados, Bermuda, Spain and New Zealand. 245 Championship Fleet Sailors competed in the Gold Fleet and 64 new racers took part in the Green Fleet for beginner racers, with 12-22 knots of breeze throughout the regatta. Final Gold Fleet standings: 1. Ian Donahue, Brigantine, NJ, 31; 2. Sean Bouchard, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, 38; 3. Atlantic Brugman, Spain / GOST, 42; 4. Matthew Wefer, Sea Cliff YC/ LISOT, 42; 5. Max Lopez, Raritan YC/ SSYC, 45. - www.sailnewport.org * Bruno Peyron's 110ft maxi catamaran Orange II is in the starting blocks for an attempt on the west-east transatlantic record. Peyron and 11 crew are in New York waiting for a weather window, which they believe might open up sometime in the next 72 hours. Weather experts Roger Badham and Pierre Lasnier will give the final thumbs up to an attempt between Ambrose Light and the Lizard. The record currently belongs to Steve Fossett, who set it in PlayStation in PlayStation in October 2001. - Elaine Bunting/ Yachting World, full story: www.yachting-world.com/auto/newsdesk/20040712112036ywnews.html * Among the sailing areas on Scuttlebutt's list of 'Best Racing Venues in the US' is the Gorge in Washington, which last week held their Columbia Gorge One Design regatta. The latest Scuttlebutt photo gallery make it clear why this really is a great place to sail: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/cgod/ For the complete list of top US racing venues: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/racingsites-us/ COMPLEXITIES MADE EASY Today the complexities of the modern yacht require specialized knowledge in many areas. Your carbon spar is one of these areas. At Bartspars we have the knowledge and experience to provide you with an accurate survey and appraisal of your carbon spar and rigging. Visit http://www.bartspars.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE You think of the past three years' effort put into world and European championships, and into the selection trials, and suddenly all that seems insignificant. This is the one event everyone talks about. Eleven races means something like 20 hours' performance to prove that you are the best. It's not like a sprinter where you go from heats to podium with a total time on track of under a minute. There will ups and downs for everyone. - GBR Olympic Finn sailor Ben Ainslie from a story he wrote for The Daily Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/4mpj2 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Bob Billingham (re the movie "Wind"): While all of us real sailors understood the inaccuracies and exaggerations, most of us were delighted to our sport represented so glamorously on the big screen. We regularly allow Hollywood to take liberties with the factual details to put some glitz on a true event (after all - its entertainment). "Wind"'s tank test scene in the desert creek was certainly more interesting than gray, dim interior of the Naval Surface Warfare Tank in Carderock, MD and the parasailing/ jeep sail testing scene evokes a much sexier image than inside of the black wind tunnel at UWAL. While the whomper was a joke, it did communicate the concept of how important sail design is to winning Cup races. Hats off to Roger Vaughan and the producers of "Wind" for giving the non-sailing public an accurate yet pleasantly embellished slice the sailing and Am Cup world. They made it a fun movie and not a documentary. One further note: all my non-sailing buddies say the best scenes were the I-14 racing shots. * From Ross Bateson (re Roger Vaughan letter): The movie 'Wind' is often mentioned in South coast UK sailing circles, as everyone's favourite film. To this day, our lightweight runner has 'Whomper' written on it, although sadly your film forewarned the ratings agencies and we were not allowed to make it twice the size of that of our competition. If you will forgive me for not appreciating your art, it is precisely the Hollywooded cliché that makes the film great. Mad German yacht designer vs well greased American corporate machine is a triumph of the small man to match greats such as Rocky's win over Drago in Stallone's 4th ringside epic. I urge those of you who enjoyed Wind to read Warwick "tandem keel" Collins' Cold War AC trilogy 'Challenge'. Bizarrely hard to get hold of nowadays, it's right up there with Moby Dick in many ways. Perhaps Roger should make a film of it? * From Dennis W. Nixon (Regarding 'Wind'): I had the privilege of working as a "sailing extra" for two weeks in Newport during the filming of Wind, turning the handles of a coffee grinder on board Intrepid and American Eagle. It was an incredible amount of fun, and a real eye-opener on the mechanics of how a "major motion picture" is produced. Since scenes were being re-written every day on the set, it seemed pretty clear even at that stage that there would not be any Oscars in the movie's future. However, the director was intent in capturing the excitement of sailing, particularly in heavy weather, and in that one category I still believe the movie does it better than any other Hollywood effort. As proof, I would offer the scene in my own living room this past Tuesday night: after the local Jamestown Yacht Club Tuesday night race, both of my daughters (ages 20 and 16) brought their crews home for a barbecue followed by their favorite after-dinner entertainment, yet another viewing of Wind. Although only two of the dozen kids there hadn't seen it before, they all stayed to the end. It's still a lot of fun. * From Nelson Stephenson: I am greatly amused by the two current threads extolling the problems with ratings rules and design of extreme boats that push the envelope and are hard to rate. The answer to any question involving ratings rules is always One Design. Period. Hands down more fun. Equal boats out of the box, preparation, conditioning and sailing ability is more important than design, first to finish wins and the boats generally hold their value. What's not to like about that? It is also amusing that the movie "Wind" is berated for being overly simplistic and not really representing our sport very well. If it attracts people to sailing and gets them interested then it is up to the rest of us to be sure that the newly attracted candidates get a great first experience and learn what sailing is all about. If we always let them have Fun first, they will be around long enough to figure out the rules. Maybe every boat should be required to carry an impressive and mythical "Whomper" just to attract new people to the sport of sailing. My bet is the only shots that would appear on TV and in the newspapers would be those of boats with the "Whomper" up. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Arthur Godfrey |
